Tag: Legionaries of Christ

The pope’s envoy running the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order says the 1,000-plus rules governing the cult-like life of some of its members are invalid and will be whittled down to a core set of norms.

Pope Benedict XVI took over the Legion last year after the order admitted its Mexican founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered three children.

When Pope Benedict XVI took over the disgraced Legion of Christ religious order last year, expectations were high that heads would roll over one of the greatest scandals of the 20th century Roman Catholic Church.

But in the absence of radical change, the movement has seen a dramatic decline in membership since the scandal was revealed in 2009.

The Vatican has named a Spanish archbishop to investigate Regnum Christi, a cult-like group affiliated with the Legionaries of Christ, the conservative religious order disgraced by revelations its founder sexually abused seminarians and fathered three children.

In an investigative report over the weekend, The Associated Press exposed the cult-like conditions in which the women of Regnum Christi live.

Pope Benedict XVI has ordered a probe into the ultra-conservative Legionaries of Christ after allegations that the order’s late founder Marcial Maciel secretly fathered a child.

The leadership recently admitted that Maciel, a cult figure among Legionaries, led a “double life” after the discovery of his liaison with the mother of his daughter.